SASSAFRAS 
so eager are they that it is often years before one succeeds 
in obtaining a perfectly mature specimen. Wings outclass 
hands when the top of a tree is in question. 
The wood, bark, and roots are all aromatic. ‘The flavor 
resides in an essential oil which is especially abundant in 
the bark of the root. At one time Sassafras enjoyed a great 
reputation in the Maverta medica, but it is now valued chiefly 
for its power to improve the flavor of other medicines. 
Sassafras is now native only to eastern North America. 
Its remains are found in the arctic regions and traces of it 
appear in the cretaceous rocks of the extreme west, it also 
formerly existed in Europe. 
